Prompted to follow Nate, Garret's eyebrows rose. Really? He pushed off the wall to fall into step. Was there actually a chance he'd get to help after all? The near-collision with Sapphire caused to pause as well. Catching her smile, he lifted his chin in a silent greeting - she was one of the few that actually treated him like a human being around here. And whether she knew it or not, he appreciated it - and when he appreciated someone, he didn't easily forget.
His ears returned to the conversation as he listened intently. Mick Henson? That was interesting. He knew the name well, and wondered if the ranch had been targeted yet again. What else would Medridge possibly want from there right now? There was so much else going on.
His thoughts were interrupted as Nate assumed a new route. Prove himself? He knew he could be an asset if they'd just let him. And since Reese wasn't here right now, it was the perfect time to try...
Jason looked up from his desk as Nate and Garret came in."Hey guys, what's up?"
After getting filled in with the case, he was now standing and looking down at the blueprints on the other side of his desk. "Okay so... we know the call came from somewhere around here, but we're assuming it came from these buildings. And on top of that, we don't even know which one."
"Here." Garret pointed to the warehouse nestled in the southwest corner of the lot.
"And...why do you say that?"
"If you were going to sweep this area, where would you start?"
Jason studied the blueprints a moment longer, then gestured to the northeast corner. "Probably here. It's the easiest access point, and from there you can spread out and cover more ground."
"And also give our guy the most time possible to see you coming."
"But there's no way for him to get out if he's in that corner."
"There's no street - but there's an empty lot. What's separating it? A fence? That won't stop him. He'd be gone before you even got to his building."
Jason quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Nate before looking back at Garret. "What makes you so confident?"
Garret straightened and folded his arms. "Just like I was telling Nate a few minutes ago. This guy is gonna figure you'll do what's predictable. And you just proved that you would. You can bet money that he's set up especially for the Elite's typical tactics. He probably isn't all that smart on his own, but he's been trained on how you guys deal with threats, and you've got a pattern. Just like every other law enforcement agency. You wonder how the Agency has been one step ahead all the time? It's because you all do the same things over and over and over."
Jason tried hard not to take offense. He thought they did a good job around here, and they'd obviously brought in many a criminal. "So what's stopping this guy from thinking like you?"
A grin tugged at the corner of Garret's mouth. "Really?"
Jason sighed and stepped back a moment.
Garret looked to Nate. He'd said all he could earlier about doing things differently and unpredictably. There wasn't much else he could add at this point. But if it were him, he'd do what he already suggested, and go in with just one or two men at night. The Elite never moved that way, so this was a prime case to have a new approach.
Wandering slowly down the hall after showing Jared the bathroom, Justin leaned back against the wall and pulled out his cell phone. His mind was still going a hundred miles an hour, trying to think up anyone who the Agency might attack in connection with him. Then he thought of his clients.
He dialed Carson. "Hey. It's Justin. Yeah, listen.." After giving Carson the short version, he encouraged him to get to Mackenzie and her family's house just to keep an eye on things, but not let anyone panic. After that, he called Eli with the same message for Ryan's sake.
Was that everyone? He had other clients but no one he was close to at this point. He thought of his ex-girlfriend. But she was out of his life, now. His mom was safe, Beth was safe, Reese was taking care of his uncle...that was it, right? His head hurt from thinking so hard.
All they could do now was wait for another call. The Agency thug had said he'd have a choice. They needed to know who the second target was. He'd call, right? He'd call and actually give him the chance to save someone? There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that the operative might just kill someone without actually giving him that chance. The Agency never played nice.
Back in the break room, Jared sat alone. He wasn't sure where Justin had gone, but he really didn't mind right now. Talking to anyone else just made this whole situation more depressing anyway. He looked down at his empty hands. Justin still had his phone. As he should - this maniac wanted to talk to him, not Jared. This whole thing was in Justin's hands. Or was it? It would seem that way, but then, they were dealing with what appeared to be a madman. How could Justin be so sure they'd get Grace back? Jared's heart hurt, and at the moment, it seemed there was nothing he could do about it.
Lane's jaw muscles tried to work out the tension as Angel resumed the questioning where Mick had left off. "It's a long story," he finally managed to whisper.
"We've got time." Trent folded his arms. They were going to have to get answers one way or another, no matter how much they cared about Lane.
Mick sighed at Rosetta's question. "I hope so. Sounds like things are pretty crazy with the Elite right now, and they literally don't have enough hands. But Reese said he might have something so...we wait. I don't want to wait long, though. He implied if we have to act, the Elite's got our back, so at least that's good." He tucked his phone back in his pocket before running a hand over his face. "We're too old for this crap, ya know?"
Slinging his arm around her shoulders, he gave her a squeeze. "Come on." He aimed back for the living room.
Lane remained quiet, but it was obvious he was mentally trying to sort through many things. Too many things. He put his head in his hands.
"We may or may not get any help."
Lane's attention snapped up at Mick's voice. "They don't want to?"
"Can't. They're understaffed. Which means for the time being, we're on our own. Which means it's time for more answers."
Lane hung his head again. "I don't know where to start."
"How about the beginning?"
...It was later. Lane had asked for a short time to collect himself, and everyone had migrated to the dining room where coffee was served. It was about the time now where anyone not wanting to go to bed early would come and enter into a game of cards, or suggest watching a movie, but tonight there was an unspoken understanding that something greater was going on. And everyone outside the small group kept their distance out of respect.
Eventually, Lane was seated with the others, across from Angel to whom most of his attention was directed...
"When I left here for the last time, I fully intended on coming back." His eyes focused on the steaming coffee mug he cupped between his hands. They all wanted to know how he was aware of what was going on at the ranch, but if he didn't start at the very beginning, he'd just have to fill in the gaps later anyway. "But...then I met Amber while I was drifting. And I fell. Hard. Rather than dragging her into a mess of invisible bad guys who were after us for invisible reasons, I decided to bury the past completely." He shrugged. "It seemed like the wisest plan at the time. We got married and settled down in Louisiana. We were both young. She had big dreams, and me...I was just a lovesick kid without the brains to be the man I needed to be." He finally took a sip of coffee and just sat quietly for a few minutes.
Mick, sitting nearby with Rosetta, picked up the sound of the door opening, and glanced that direction, quite surprised to see Jim enter. His brother quietly went to the kitchen for some coffee too, then found an empty seat a ways from the others - keeping his distance, but obviously wanting to listen. Mick gave Rosetta a quick look. Jim had been avoiding everyone. Strange that he would enter into this.
Lane continued his story. "Amber went to school to pursue a career, and I caught part time jobs off and on while trying to be an artist." He scoffed. "I'd spend hours at home in front of a canvas. That's what Amber hated the most. I didn't mean to ignore her - I was just clueless about what really mattered. Then she got pregnant."
A little smile curled his lips as he swirled his coffee around. "Kinda rocked my world, ya know? She was petrified - I was thrilled." His eyes found Angel's. "First thing I wanted to do was call you, but...all I could think about was the danger." It sounded so shallow now. "When Travis was born, I was sure I was the happiest man alive. Amber had to quit school for a while, and I buckled down and found steady work. I did my best, but I just wasn't around as much as she needed, I guess."
His fingernail tapped the outside of the coffee mug as his tension rose. He kept going though. "When Travis was about two years old, we moved back to Texas. I guess a part of me had never really left, and Amber missed it. Then...about a year later...I got home from work one night and found her packing. She said she'd found someone better than me. Someone better suited to meet her and Travis' needs. Someone who paid more attention to her than work or stupid paintings." The pain in Lane's voice proved that his heart had still not fully healed. "Somewhere in the middle of our shouting match, she informed me she'd been having an affair right under my nose almost that whole year." He took another sip of coffee to cover up the fact that he was having trouble saying any of this out loud.
"So that was the end of that. I got served papers the next day, and in very little time, we were divorced and she had full custody of Travis. I moved to a smaller place, picked up a different job, and during the next few years I worked at getting to see my boy whenever I could. Once he was in junior high, Amber let him make up his own mind, so we had quite a few weekends together. And that pretty much brings us to the present. He just graduated and was gonna start a job next week. We'd planned a fishing trip, but obviously that got interrupted."
Mick let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry it's been so hard." But the biggest question of all had not yet been answered. "Where exactly have you been?" he prodded.
Lane ran a hand over his face. "I've been working at the Triple J Ranch."
Mick's eyes widened. That was a cattle ranch only a half hour's drive away. "What?"
Lane glanced again to his sister. He was so sorry. "I know about everything 'cause I've only been about twenty miles from here for the last eight years or so." He bit his lip. "At first, ya'll were still scattered around and I didn't wanna cause a stir by showing up, so I stayed away. Then I found out things were starting to happen again and...I watched as everyone came back. You can learn a lot by asking around." He swallowed hard. "I, um... once I realized the war had never ended, I did some digging and found out all I could about the Agency, then eventually stumbled on the Elite and all that. Wasn't easy but... I'm stubborn like that."
Luke's brow furrowed. "So you've been spying on us for years?"
"Not...not spying. Just... I didn't want to cause you trouble, and I wanted to keep Travis safe. But I couldn't just... I didn't want to..." Lane fished for the right words to express what he felt. New tears surfaced. "Family has... always been important to me. Years ago when I was here, it was my first taste of what family really meant and... and when I left... that was the one thing I was missing." He cleared his throat and took a moment to regain focus. "I was too scared of either causing harm or having harm done to my son that I kept my distance. But I couldn't keep from knowing what was going on here. How everyone was doing. Watching my sister get married, and my niece have kids of her own." He managed a faint smile. "My only regret is not being here. Being too scared to come back. 'Cause in the end, it didn't matter. They found me anyway. And all these years were just...wasted."
"I can't believe you've been this close for this long," Trent commented.
Lane swished around the last bit of his coffee, and didn't feel like he could look at his sister again. He didn't deserve her love and care. He didn't deserve anyone's help. It had taken an Agency attack to bring him here. He was just a coward that had now endangered all of them.
